11. Production Review: My Production and My Intended Improvements

In order to make my advert more successful, I had to receive constructive criticism and advice from the media teachers, Mrs Blackborow and Mrs Dymioti, as well as the media technician, Sam. Additionally I also had a few "non-media" students review the advert on a general basis. Whilst Sam looked at the more technical side of the advert, like the music and the coloring of the advert, the teachers looked at more of the form and the main concept.

Advert 1: ( Male)

Teachers:

Mrs Dymioti commented on the fact that the advert seemed to filmic due to the dialogue at the start, which showed how the character interacted with other irrelevant characters. Furthermore, she also said that the pace of the editing at the beginning was a bit too slow, however it improved in the second half of the advert. She also noticed the difference in the bottles from the pack shot and the shot of the male applying the deodorant.
Mrs Blackborow also thought that the advert was too filmic therefore giving me a suggestion of leaving out the music until the deodorant is applied, so giving an emphasis on the effects of the deodorant as well as making the advert less filmic. The difference in bottles was also mentioned.

In order to resolve this issue, I had cut some shots in the beginning to make it shorter and have more cuts therefore increasing the pace. Furthermore, I introduced the music further in the advert, when a drastic change occurs. In this case, the change in scenery from the male's house to central London. I also made the shot in slo-mo to further add to the change in situation. This therefore made amplified the change and effects of the deodorant. I also had to reshoot the bottle so that it was black instead of blue to match the bottle featured in the pack shot.

Technician:

Sam also commented on the music of the advert and suggested that it should also start a bit later. Furthermore, he also said that some of the shots at the end were a bit grainy due to the lighting of the shot, as it was a bit dark. He also said that the background sound of the shots can be adjusted to make it better. He also said that the voice over at the end was hard to hear due to the music drowning it out.

In order to resolve the issue, I had to lower the music at the end and increase the volume of the voice over so that it can be heard clearly. Additionally, I also increased the brightness on a few shots at the end so that the characters were not too dark.

"Non-Media" Students:

They said that the pace of the advert in the beginning could've been quicker, like the second half. However, they liked the shots of central London at night due to the lights emitted from the London Eye.They also liked the story line of the advert as it is an engaging scenario.

In order to resolve this issue, I had cut some shots in the beginning to make it shorter and have more cuts therefore increasing the pace.

Advert 2: ( Female)

Teachers:

Mrs Dymioti said that the pace of the advert was good as it was fitting with the soundtrack. However, she also said that some of the shots needed to be cut down to prevent the shots with longer duration from disengaging the target audience. 

Mrs Blackborow also said that the soundtrack needed to be moved until later in the advert so that the effects of the deodorant is made clear. Additionally at important moments, such as the kiss in the end, she suggested to do a slo-mo so that the audience can be engaged with the story. 

In order to resolve the issue, I had to cut down the duration of some of the shots, like the talking on the phone, reading a book and tennis shots. Furthermore, I had moved the soundtrack to where the deodorant can can be seen and had kept the diegetic sound in the first few shots to progress the story. I also added the slo-mo to the shot of the female walking at night in central London, as well as to the shot of the characters kissing at the end. This is to further emphasise the emotional appeal and therefore engage the target audience. 

Technician:

Sam commented on the sound mix of the advert and how the music overpowers the voice over at the end. Additionally the diegetic sounds also needed to be turned up in order to make up for the lack of music in order to tell the story more effectively. He also commented on the saturation of the advert and how it could be improved as it seemed a bit gray. 

In order to resolve this, I had adjusted the saturation of the shots by increasing the percentage and therefore leading to a more vibrant looking shot. Furthermore, the diegetic sounds were turned up enough so that it is louder and more audible. The brightness of the shots at the end was also increased due to the poor lighting when shooting. The contrast was also increased slightly in order to reduce the graininess. 

"Non-Media" Students:

They said that the storyline of the advert is good and is fitting with the other advert. They also said that the storyline provides emotional appeal and that they would consider it a familiar scenario. They also said that some of the shots looked a bit dark. 

In order to resolve the issue, I had increased the brightness of the shots as well as increasing the contrast of the shots. I also added a slo-mo to the shot of the characters kissing at the end to emphasise the emotional appeal so that the audience would find it more engaging. 

Overall, I found that having reviews done on my advert, whether it be non-media students or teachers, was very helpful as I was able to receive opinions from different perspectives and use that to improve my work.